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The Italian mezzo-soprano, Elisa Fortunati, studied at Università degli Studi di Verona, graduating in singing with top marks and honors and graduated in philosophy with 110 cum laude (her thesis on Descartes' "Compendium Musicae" was published in the musicological magazine Quaderni di musicologia). In May 2007, she won the VI International Festival of the Romanza da salotto, organized by the Tirindelli Association (President of the jury Mara Zampieri), and was also awarded for the famous romances section.
Elisa Fortunati made her debut participating in the staging of Leonard Bernstein's Candide organized by "Pergine Spettacolo Aperto". She later collaborated with the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and the Teatro Sociale in Trento participating in the performance of Benjamin Britten's operas Noye's Fludde and The Little Sweep. She was the main interpreter of G. D'Andrea's opera Antinesca, performed in world premiere at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale in collaboration with the "Biennale Musica" in Venice. At the Teatro "G. Modena" in Genoa and in St. Petersburg she was Fidalma in Cimarosa.Il Matrimonio Segreto As the winner of the international competition "Rome Festival 2005", she played Hänsel in Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hänsel und Gretel. She was Margarita in Wolf-Ferrari's I Quatro Rusteghi at the Teatro Del Giglio in Lucca, the Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna and the Teatro Verdi in Pisa.
Elisa Fortunati made her debut as the Abbess in Puccini's Suor Angelica in the theaters of Modena, Piacenza and Ferrara, Pisa, Livorno, Lucca, Ravenna, Bolzano and Udine (the entire triptych is available on DVD recorded by TDK and RAI Trade). She played the following roles: Lola in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Flora in Verdi's La Traviata at the Teatro Sociale in Busto Arsizio, the Countess, the Page and Giovanna (conducted by F. Ommassini) in Verdi's Rigoletto at the A. Salieri theater in Legnago (Verona, Veneto), Mercedes in Verona, Veneto's Carmen, Berta in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (directed and costumed by A. Cabassi), Curra in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto. In May 2010, she was at the Comunale in Florence for Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, conducted by Zubin Mehta. She is among the protagonists of Valtinoni's La regina delle nevi, conducted by C. Spierer, in an Italian premiere at the Teatro Comunale in Vicenza. She was the Countess of Ceprano at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in Verdi's Rigoletto (production of the Fondazione Arena di Verona).
In May 2012, Elisa Fortunati sang in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier again at the Teatro Comunale in Florence conducted by Zubin Mehta. In February 2013, she was at the Teatro Ristori in Verona in Henry Pucell's Dido and Aeneas conducted by Stefano Montanari (production of the Fondazione Arena di Verona). In January 2022 she was the Nursing Sister in G. Puccini's Suor Angelica conducted by Gianna Fratta (production of the Fondazione Arena di Verona).
Elisa Fortunati performs chamber music in various formations and also dedicates herself to the sacred repertoire with the performance of important religious pieces such as the Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria, John Rutter's Magnificat, Franz Liszt's Via Crucis, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, J.S. Bach's Magnificat in D major BWV 243, G. Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, which have led her, among others, to collaborate with the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona in some titles (W.A. Mozart's Requiem, Felix Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion, G. Rossini's Stabat Mater). Elisa Fortunati has under her belt various concerts of chamber and contemporary music for various lyric institutions and associations. She is now planning to record three lyrics on texts by Carducci. She spoke at the musicological conference Rocco Eduardo Pagliara: cultural mediator at the Università di Napoli, performing salon romances on text and music by Pagliara with a string trio. |
